SK Choi Tae-won: Semiconductor demand will increase by at least 50% next year

Odaily Planet Daily News: SK Group chairman and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman Choi Tae-won said at a media roundtable held during the Jeju Forum that global semiconductor demand will increase significantly next year. Demand in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector is expected to rise by 60% to 100% from this year, and overall semiconductor product demand is also expected to grow by at least 50% to 60%. However, the amount of new supply next year will be almost zero, and the supply-demand gap may widen further.

Choi Tae-won predicted that, after energy and power equipment, material supply and facility construction may become a new bottleneck constraining the development of the industry. He said that with the development of the AI industry, shortages may occur in wires and related materials; the prices of relevant products have already increased, and submarine cables are also in short supply. As construction specifications change every one or two years, construction difficulty is also increasing. He believes that the AI industry still needs time to form an autonomous development ecosystem. Currently, infrastructure investment is huge and has not yet produced corresponding results, but once the entire system begins to operate, the AI industry is expected to gradually form a self-sustaining development ecosystem. (Yonhap News)